5x2 (2004)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

François Ozon

Writers:

François Ozon (scenario)
Emmanuèle Bernheim (scenario collaborator)

Release Date:

1 September 2004 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Five stages in the romance between a woman and a man.

Plot Keywords:

Divorce | Son | Wedding Night | Dinner Party | Adultery

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi	...	Marion (as Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi)
Stéphane Freiss	...	Gilles
Françoise Fabian	...	Monique
Michael Lonsdale	...	Bernard
Géraldine Pailhas	...	Valérie
Antoine Chappey	...	Christophe
Marc Ruchmann	...	Mathieu
Jason Tavassoli	...	L'Américain
Jean-Pol Brissart	...	Le Juge
Eliane Kherris	...	L'avocate
Yannis Belkacem	...	Nicolas
Sylvie Debrun	...	L'échographiste
Jean Neisser	...	Le Maire
Ninon Brétécher	...	Sophie (as Ninon Bretecher)
Marie-Madeleine Fouquet	...	La mère de Gilles
Pierre Chollet	...	Le père de Gilles
Carlo-Antonio Angioni	...	Le réceptionniste
Domenico Sannino	...	L'animateur italien
Andrea Cesolari	...	Le G.O.

Directed by
François Ozon

Writing credits
François Ozon		(scenario)
Emmanuèle Bernheim		(scenario collaborator)

Produced by
Olivier Delbosc	....	producer
Philippe Dugay	....	executive producer: Italy
Marc Missonnier	....	producer

Original Music by
Philippe Rombi

Cinematography by
Yorick Le Saux

Film Editing by
Monica Coleman

Casting by
Antoinette Boulat

Production Design by
Katia Wyszkop

Set Decoration by
Sophie Martel

Costume Design by
Pascaline Chavanne

Makeup Department
Franck-Pascal Alquinet	....	key hair stylist
Jérôme Balp	....	additional hair stylist
Michèle Carmitrand	....	additional makeup artist (as Michèle Carmintrand)
Isis Fouquet-Abrial	....	makeup trainee
Patrick Girault	....	key hair stylist
Lydia Molyn	....	trainee hair stylist
Gill Robillard	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Stefania Antonini	....	location unit manager
Francesco Belfiore	....	production manager: Italy
Cyrille Bragnier	....	unit manager
Florent Cocátre	....	unit manager
Johanna Colboc	....	assistant unit manager
Sébastien Didelot	....	assistant unit manager
Delphine Duverger	....	assistant unit manager
Federico Floris	....	unit production manager
Benjamin Hess	....	unit manager
Julie Léger	....	post-production manager
Claire Le Saint	....	assistant unit manager
Marie-Jeanne Pascal	....	production manager
Charlotte Puiroux	....	assistant unit manager
Pascal Roussel	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michaela Stella Bagnoli	....	trainee assistant director
Hubert Barbin	....	first assistant director
Cyril Duval	....	assistant director
Maia Etcheverry	....	second assistant director
Guillaume Huin	....	trainee assistant director
Chrystelle Robin	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Raphael Martin Barroso	....	carpenter
Paul Bellau	....	carpenter
Daniele Bignami	....	property master: Italy
Jeremy Chapelet	....	carpenter (as Jérémie Chapelet)
Yves Chaudesaigues	....	carpenter
Jerome Fortier	....	construction manager (as Jérôme Fortier)
Tristan Girault	....	property master
Alexandra Lassen	....	assistant art director
Bruno Lefebvre	....	key carpenter (as Bruno Lefevre)
Loïc Le Moigne	....	painter
Franck Miniconi	....	key painter
Corinne Pouchoulin	....	painter
Marie Rossignol	....	key painter
Pierre-André Roussotte	....	painter

Sound Department
Nicolas Becker	....	foley artist
Yannick Boulot	....	sound recordist
Nicolas Bourgeois	....	sound mixer
Samuel Dequidt	....	assistant sound editor
Jean-Pierre Duret	....	sound
Julien Gigliotti	....	assistant sound
Benoît Hillebrant	....	sound editor
Jean-Pierre Laforce	....	sound mixer
Vincent Laurence	....	sound recordist
Jean-Louis Lebras	....	boom operator (as Jean-Louis Le Bras)
Hacia Mendia	....	assistant foley artist
Yves-Marie Omnes	....	boom operator
Francis Perrard	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby (as Francis Perréard)
Stéphane Reichart	....	sound engineer
Hervé Roux	....	stereo sound consultant: DTS
Brigitte Taillandier	....	sound
Florian Thiebaux	....	sound mixer
Vinca Vermesse	....	boom operator
Pascal Vonhatten	....	foley recordist

Special Effects by
Max Garnier	....	special effects
Sara Helminger	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Thierry Delobel	....	digital artist
Daniel Trujillo	....	digital effects artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Olivier Bouyssou	....	additional grip
Cédric Bureau	....	additional grip
Henri Deneubourg	....	trainee electrician
Patrick de Ranter	....	Steadicam operator
Johan Le Ruz	....	electrician
Stella Libert	....	camera trainee
Alexandre Louis	....	additional electrician
Stephen Mack	....	second assistant camera
Laurent Malek	....	electrician
Tom Mitaux	....	electrician
Jean-Claude Moireau	....	still photographer
Luis Peralta	....	electrician
Ivo Perondi	....	electrician: Italy
Mathias Raaflaub	....	electrician
Xavier Renaudot	....	gaffer
Carlos Ribeiro	....	grip
Benoît Rizzoti	....	first assistant camera (as Benoît Rizzotti)
Olivia Roudon	....	camera trainee
Hervé Rousset	....	key grip
Michel Sabourdy	....	gaffer
Christophe Sournac	....	electrician

Casting Department
Audrey Gatimel	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Max Chaoul	....	designer: wedding gown
Agnès Giudicelli	....	additional costumer
Chloé Lesueur	....	costumer
Louise Rapp	....	costumer
Marina Tilocca	....	costumer: Italy

Editorial Department
Frédéric Barbe	....	assistant editor
Marine Benveniste	....	assistant editor
Richard Deusy	....	digital color timer
Christian Dutac	....	color timer

Music Department
Edouard Dubois	....	music consultant
Philippe Rombi	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Tony Arnoux	....	press attache
Stephane Beissy	....	production administrator
Thierry Chapat	....	production administrator
Sébastien Charles	....	choreographer
Johanna Colboc	....	production assistant
Jean-René Coulon	....	location manager
Lara dall'Antonia	....	production coordinator: Italy
Sandra Eckert	....	production assistant
Agnès Feuvre	....	script supervisor
Agathe Grau	....	script supervisor
Raphaëlle Isnard	....	production secretary
Virginie Lempereur	....	production assistant
Kamel Lyoubi	....	groupman
Aurelio Marino	....	accountant
Fanny Moriat	....	production assistant
André-Paul Ricci	....	press attache

Production Companies

• Fidélité Productions
• France 2 Cinéma
• FOZ
• Canal+ (with the participation of)
• CinéCinéma (with the participation of)
• Gimages 6 (in association with)
• Banque Populaire Images 4 (in association with)
• Cofimage 14 (in association with)
• Région Ile-de-France (with the support of)

Distributors

• Alfa Films (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• BIM Distribuzione (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Cinemien (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Festive Films (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2005) (Finland) (theatrical)
• GAGA (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Hollywood Classic Entertainment (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Mars Distribution (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Prokino Filmverleih (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Saturn Films (2005) (Slovakia) (theatrical)
• THINKFilm (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Tarantula Films (2006) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Artist Film (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Homescreen (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Pathé Vidéo (2004) (France) (video)

Other Companies

• BMG France  soundtrack album
• Cinécam  camera equipment
• Locaflash  electrical equipment
• Orchestre Symphonique Bel Arte  orchestra
• TEST  titles
• Telegrip  grip equipment
• Télé-Europe  editing

Also Known As:

5 x 2: Five Times Two (Canada: English title) (festival title)
Cinq fois deux (France) (alternative spelling)
Five Times Two (International: English title) (long title)
Nous deux (France) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong graphic sexuality, language and some drug content.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Taiwan:R-18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Chile:14 | Hungary:16 | Brazil:14 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | South Korea:18 | Japan:R-15 | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:R18 | Czech Republic:18 | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:R21 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Hong Kong:III | Italy:VM14 | USA:R | Ireland:18 | Sweden:11 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Fidélité Productions

Trivia:

In the French edition of the DVD, the director offers a version of the movie titled "2 x 5". This version shows the five sequences in the chronological order, from the moment the couple meets till their divorce. Subtle editing work has been applied to make the movie work.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the hotel room scene early in the film, Marion's wedding band changes from the left hand to the right hand, then back to the left again.

Soundtrack:

Theme Piano

An exploration of the modern relationship...?

I'm a big fan of French director François Ozon, and every film he releases automatically becomes a must see for me. 5x2 is the story of a relationship told backwards in five stages, from the divorce proceedings to the initial meeting between a couple. Given the way that this story plays out, it's clear that 5x2 isn't exactly a romantic film; as we always know that the relationship is leading into oblivion. The main talking point of this movie is the fact that the story plays out backwards. This type of plot has been used with great success in films like Memento, but despite being seen before; Ozon makes good use of his plotting, and it provides a refreshing take on the common romantic film. There isn't really a plot to speak of, and the focus is kept on the central relationship between the husband and wife. This ensures that Ozon is allowed to develop his characters without being bogged down by plot details, and it ultimately benefits the film as it's potency all rests with the characters of Marion and Giles, both of which are played to perfection by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Stéphane Freiss.

A film like this asks a lot of the performers, and as he's done several times before; Ozon ensures that both are up to the task, and he manages to pull great performances out of both the lead stars. The pair goes through a range of emotions, from happiness to hope and down to despair as the relationship falls apart. These days, it's more common for couples to split up; and this ensures that 5x2 is almost like Casablanca for the modern age. It's a very cynical film, but Ozon is not wrong in his depiction of a doomed relationship. The film is made more complicated by the inclusion of a child between the couple, but as each of the five sections of the film is relatively short in length, not everything is able to be explored and this is the film's main flaw. 5x2 is very French in its style and execution, and it's obvious that the director loves his home country. François Ozon is obviously gay (looking at the rest of his filmography), and even though this film is about a heterosexual relationship, the way that a gay couple is incorporated into the proceedings is very ham-fisted, and doesn't really fit. Still, this is a good film about the destruction of a relationship and overall, a success for the talented director.